Beware The "Tender Back Rule" When Pursuing Previously Released Claims
Most civil litigation ends with a settlement agreement in which the parties agree to compromise their claims and defenses, dismiss the underlying lawsuit and release all claims they have against one another. Normally this ends the matter and the parties go their separate ways. But what happens when one party breaches the settlement agreement? What options does the...
The “Conditional Dismissal” – A New Tool For Settlements In Michigan
Effective May 1, 2018, the Michigan Court Rules were amended to create the new rule MCR 2.602(C). The rule describes a procedure for entering a “conditional dismissal” of an action once a settlement is reached, but before the settlement is complete. The rule addresses the long-standing problem of what happens when parties to litigation decide to settle the action by exchanging settlement...
Combatting Overbroad Discovery Requests On Third-Parties – The Sixth Circuit Stands Up To Discovery Abuse
The next time you receive a subpoena with an attached schedule requesting seven categories of “communications, material, or electronically stored information” that relates to an individual or entity for some five-year period and even includes its own definitions of words like “communication” and “relate,” you may have a handy response to add to your list of objections: pay me. In a recently...